Wiccans, a question about the Rede?

Question

The Wiccan Rede: "If you harm none, do what you will" (or some slight variation thereof). A core tenet of the Wiccan faith.

A simple phrase, but I'd say that simplicity is deceptive. It takes great dedication to live by the Rede and to apply it consistantly in one's everyday life.

How do you interpret those eight little words? How do you live them? Is it difficult? Is it easy? And what do you think of the addendum to the Rede: "If you must harm, do only what is necessary"?

Answer 1

First, thank you for asking this question.

I really do wish more Witches understood the Rede better, as it's alarming to me to watch *some* that I know go through bizarre and dishonest gyrations in order to justify their action as doing "no harm".

"An it harm none, do as you will"

(An = provided)

Like many things, this requires some explanation.

Notice that this is an "If, then" statement. If you've taken logic classes, you'll be familiar with that.

Here's another example of an "If, then":

If it rains today, then I'll make soup for dinner.

Given just that, what can we say about dinner it if doesn't rain today?

Nothing, really. I may make soup; I may make something else; I may not make dinner at all.

So the Rede says, basically, "If what you're thinking about doing will cause no harm that you can see, go ahead, don't spend any time pondering the ethics of it"

What does the Rede say about harmful actions? Nada. Zip. Not a word.

It does not address purposely harmful actions, nor does it address accidentally harmful actions.

We are left to decide for ourselves if we will intentionally do something harmful. And we know that we will have to deal with the consequences if we so choose.

Unintentional harm is different - it's kind of a grey area. I tend to think that this is an area in which thoughtlessness will produce thoughtlessness.

This is something that most newbies don't know about the Rede - that's because teachers generally don't tell them until they have reached a level of ethical caution that lets the teacher know that the student can understand fully the responsibility involved in doing purposely harmful things. Generally when a student is at this level, there is no real desire to do purposely harmful things, so it's not the threat of return that stops us, it's a desire not to purposely cause harm...and to do the least harm when there is no option but to do some level of harm.


The Rede doesn't actually say "Do no harm under any circumstances whatsoever"- we're not so naive that we think that we can avoid doing any harm ever.

What the Rede requires is ruthless courage in examining ourselves - our actions, our motivations, etc., the acknowledgment of US being the source of our actions (responsibility), and the willingness to accept the consequences of our actions like adults.

It requires that as we grow in the Craft we learn from past actions and consequences, and strive always to become MORE honest with ourselves about ourselves, and more thoughtful in evaluating the potential harm of our actions.

It is not easy to follow the Rede. But it is worthwhile.

Answer 2

There's a lot of debate about the Rede. Some think the Rede needs to be followed to the exact letter, while others are very relaxed about the subject - so much so that they completely ignore it because they think the Rede voids itself. For example, if you do magick and you have the purest of intent for a spell, such as an employment spell, who says magick isn't going to work the way it wants to anyway? Even with the most positive intent, employment magick, while serving you, could also lead to someone elses unemployment, or demotion just so you could have that job. Basically, magick has the prospect of having a brain of it's own.

However, some believe that if you have the most positive intents, karma will see your good will and reward the situation by means of having it work out for everyone involved.

The Rede to me is the same as the Golden Rule: Treat others how you wish to be treated. It's common sense, thus it's easy for me to follow every day of my life.

Fortunately, I think karma sees that we are human. And as long as we're doing the best we possibly can, even if it does hurt someone along the way, I think all will be forgiven.

Answer 3

I'm not Wiccan, but I study religions.

The Rede is actually nothing unusual in the world of religions. The Ten Commandment of Christianity/Judiasm have parallels all over. Buddha's Eight Fold Path is remarkably similar.

True enough, the Rede, on the surface, doesn't appear to be much like the Ten Commandments. The basic intent of these rules is basically the same. It is meant to protect people in general from selfish behavior. The kindness of the Rede is in its tolerance.

In other words, it was meant to keep people from making ARBITRARY rules that only cause unhappiness.

Answer 4

yes,i try to live by the eight fold rules of the wiccan rede.and it is hard to live by it b/c of these stupid christians saying that we are evil.i want to tell everybody now!we are not evil!we are just like you,just have a different beliefs.isnt america about freedom of religion?where did that go?or is it a sin to be your own self?

Answer 5

Yes it is hard. because it demands of us one thing most religeons do not. Personal responsiblity. Its really hard for some, really easy for others.

the last part -

just a practicality. some times one must fight to live.